pappagooch Posted December 15, 2003 #1 Share Posted December 15, 2003 Nostradamus was born 500 years ago today, but then, anyone paying attention could have predicted that. To mark the anniversary, the Nostradamus Society of America is holding a round-table discussion about the world's most famous soothsayer at his birthplace in St. Rémy de Provence, France. His real name was Michel de Nostredame and he was born into a Jewish family that converted to Catholicism when he was a young boy. He was schooled in medicine and astrology. In his early 40s, he began looking to the future: his and ours. In 1555, Nostradamus published the first of 942 cryptic quatrains, which among 6,300 other things, anticipated the accidental death four years later of Henry II, king of France. His fame spread, his reputation took off, and Nostradamus became rich from his paranormal prophecies. He said a lot of things a lot of ways, and might have been the model for a long line of oracles, charlatans, quacks and clairvoyants who actually made money off their prophecies. There are people today who still swear by him. Nostradamus enthusiasts say he foresaw the French Revolution, the rise of Adolf Hitler, the assassination of U.S. President John Fitzgerald Kennedy and the terrorist attack on the World Trade Centre. The 72nd quatrain reads: "The great king of terror who comes from the sky to the great New City. In an instant, a great scattered flame will leap up." In the days following the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, sales of the predictions of Nostradamus soared, appearing on best-seller lists throughout the Western world. If you are a believer, the worst is yet to come. But not everyone is impressed by the doomsayer's legacy. View: Full Article | Source: The Gazette Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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